2 people suspected of having contracted Nipah virus infection hospitalised

After a suspected case of Nipah virus was reported from Ernakulam district of Kerala, two more persons, suffering from high fever, were put under observation at Trivandrum Medical College on Thursday.

Their samples have been sent for examination, sources said.

On June 4, a 23-old-man had tested positive for Nipah virus infection, which killed 17 people in Kerala last year.

As of now, a total of 15 people are under observation in the state.

Yesterday, seven people suspected of having contracted the virus were admitted to a hospital in Kochi.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan had on June 4 said that the Centre had rushed a team of doctors to Kerala for investigation in the wake of the scare of Nipah virus.

Vardhan had asserted that he is "very vigorously" following the situation.

Nipah virus is transmitted from animals to humans and then spreads through people to people contact, causing respiratory illness.

Its symptoms include fever, muscle pain, headache, fever, dizziness and nausea.